Where Your Treasure Is
by LordQuidditch
Summary: Sirius never went to Azkaban. Instead, his thirst for revenge over Pettigrew was curbed that night by rational paternal instincts - to save Harry. Meanwhile, the Malfoy household was in turmoil, and Narcissa fled her abusive husband Lucius, with their son Draco. Then she turned to Sirius, her cousin. Together they bring up the children of the Blacks, be it by name or by blood.
1. Prologue: The Past

****DZ2's 'Black and White' Challenge: I saw this challenge and I thought it would be great to have a go at.****

**Plot:** In a desire to protect her son from the aftershocks of Voldemort's downfall, Narcissa sends him to Sirius, who is already in the process of raising another child: Harry!

**Rules:** Sirius and Narcissa MUST be brother/sister relations and Andromeda, Bellatrix and Regulus are from a different branch of the family

As the guardian of both Harry and Draco, Sirius raises them to understand the true meaning of 'no good and evil' hence a Grey Harry and Grey Draco

Pettigrew must get his comeuppance either eventually in the story or immediately

Narcissa must become a maternal figure to Harry and Draco becomes like an honorary brother

The 'Rite of Conquest' theme is used, making Harry the new Heir of Slytherin

Andromeda, Ted and Nymphadora are a part of Harry's upbringing

Lucius must go to Azkaban and be resentful of Draco

The remaining Blacks discover Harry is a Horcrux and remove it

Even though he's raised as a Black, Draco must respect Muggle-borns and find the M-word as bad a term as swearing

**Guidelines:** Powerful Harry and Draco - _Accepted_

The two become blood-brothers - _Accepted_

Regulus is alive and helps raise/train the boys - _Accepted_

Sirius adopts Harry and/or Draco becoming their actual Father - _Accepted_

Severitus

Remus is somehow involved in Harry's life - _Accepted_

Sirius makes Harry and Draco joined heirs and future co-Lord Blacks - _Accepted_

All pairings are welcome - _Accepted, but non-slash in my case_

**Forbidden:** Light or Dark Harry and Draco

Draco Bashing

Narcissa and Draco going back to Lucius

Harry and Draco joining Tom or Dumbledore

Lucius getting away with his crimes

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><p><strong>AN: I spotted this challenge on DZ2's forum, and I thought it sounded brilliant. So, here I am.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter or the famous Warner Bros, and the challenge belongs to DZ2. If I did own HP, well ... who knows what would have happened? Suffice to say it wouldn't have been particularly pretty or nice for some characters ... ****Mwahaha!**

**Dedication: To all of you who enjoy DZ2's work, all of you who like this story, and to the upcoming birth of my next cousin - this time, a boy! Thank you!**

**Warning: Rape is alluded to in this chapter, so beware. I apologise to all those who have suffered from it, and the act is (in my opinion) repulsive - it has only been used as a means to an end in a work of fan fiction. Also, please bear in mind that the views and beliefs shown in this story are not necessarily those of the author, merely used to achieve what will hopefully be a good rendition of, and answer to, the challenge above.**

**Ages: I have messed around a little with canon timeline, and in this fic Sirius is two years older than Narcissa, whereas in J.K. Rowling's universe, she was four years his elder. Lucius in turn is three years ahead of Sirius. Anyway, please read on. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Narcissa!" a man's angry voice rang through the house. "Narcissa! Where are you?! We need to speak."<p>

The door slammed open as she cowered in the corner. Her husband was drunk, once again, and the alcohol brought out the side of him no-one wanted to ever see. He quickly became violent when in such a condition - a condition brought on by his 'friends' in the Inner Circle of Voldemort's Death Eaters.

She looked up just in time to see a hand come plunging down. SMACK! The punch was followed by a sharp blow to the cheek, and tears rolled down her face, stained black by the makeup she wore.

"You stupid bitch," he said malevolently, seizing her by the neck and slamming her into the wall behind her. "Stupid little Narcissa - did you not think for a moment?"

She choked as his fist tightened around her throat. "Lucius-"

He cut her off with another blow, this time to the abdomen, and threw her to the floor. "YOU DARE?! YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME?!" he roared. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about your sordid little affair? You married me, you bore me a son, and then you acted like a complete TRAITOR!"

His eyes blazed with rage. "YOU! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY YOUR OWN HUSBAND," Lucius yelled. "FOR ANOTHER MAN'S SO-CALLED LOVE?!"

Leaning in closely to her fear-stricken face, his voice dropped dangerously. "The Lord has fallen, all because of you. You bedded his enemy, and now he's dead."

He breathed deeply. "And so are you! Narcissa," the pureblood grinned evilly. "Narcissa Malfoy, Narcissa Black!"

"Narcissa! Narcissa!" the voice warped from the smooth, silky tones of her husband to a more friendly, soft sort. The face changed too; the hair shortening, turning black and wilder; the eyes changed from a cold grey to a kind silver and the features sharpened, cheekbones heightening and the nose becoming less crooked. "Cissy, wake up!"

She jolted awake, sweating profusely and her pupils dilating rapidly as a concerned expression came into view. "Unghh ... Sirius ..." Narcissa mumbled, her voice cracking as she broke down into a fresh wave of grief rushed over her.

Sirius rushed forward, enveloping her in a tight, warm hug. "Hey," he soothed gently. "It's just a dream, it's just a dream. I'm here for you, Cissy, you know that."

Hearing his words of comfort, she wept even more. "It's alright, Cissy," comforted Sirius. "He can't hurt you. Not now, not ever."

As she cried, her tears dampening the clothes of her brother, her mind wandered to the cause of her troubles four years earlier - her husband. Or rather, ex-husband.

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><p><em>When she had met Lucius, she was infatuated with him. She saw him as a handsome, polite, well-mannered hunk with a huge chunk of money and exquisite treatment of women. She was wrong. In reality, he was a brutish, loutish, vindictive man who reveled in nothing more than other people's misery and the happiness of his 'Lord'. One night, the pig had ... forced himself upon her. Narcissa was not even out of Hogwarts, not of consenting age, and her parents had regrettably signed a deal with Lucius' father, a horrid 'gentleman' by the name of Abraxus. She was fifteen.<em>

_That was when she discovered her adoration for the disgusting prat was fake. Her loving parents had snuck into the potion vials she frequently imbibed from as a result of a growth stunting in her youth a different little concoction. Amortentia. Not a full-blown dosage, but it was close enough that she found herself doing almost anything asked of her by her fiancé at the time._

_Naturally, when she found out, she was distraught, and turned to the best and only true moral support she could find, or had ever found: Sirius. Then a seventh year and in the middle of his N.E.W.T. revision and mock exams, he had been surprisingly welcoming and eager to speak to her at any available time. He loved her dearly, and was very attached to her, unlike their half-cousins, Bellatrix, Regulus and Andromeda. Regulus was alright, if a little shy and distant, but he would never compare to Sirius. Andromeda, on the other hand, was bubbly and lively, with an obsession with Muggle technology and life. Bellatrix was ... in a way, unique; a bitch, deranged, brainwashed and all-round disturbing._

_Sirius was furious. With his friends James, Remus, Lily and Peter, he had striven to make the blond's life a misery. As a basically honourary member of the House of Potter, and with his best friend and pranking companion, he was able to contact several allies of the Potters, who in turn worked towards the destruction of the Malfoy family in both name and body. Unluckily, it was - for the most part - unsuccessful, and ended in nothing more than a political-bordering-on-blood feud between the two Houses. A true master of Transfiguration, though, James had managed somehow to mutate the genitalia of the youngest Malfoy into those of a ferret, bringing great humour to Narcissa._

_Alas, it had only lasted for a month. But, that month had been productive. Sirius, the Marauders, Lily Evans, Regulus and Andromeda had taught her many spells and hexes designed specifically to keep the unwanted attentions of a man at bay. They worked, at least for a while, during the brief time she was exposed to him in the middle of her O.W.L year._

_When she left Hogwarts, she was vulnerable. The hexes she knew were quickly brought to the attention of the smarmy creep, and he confiscated her wand. Without it, she was helpless. For years, she suffered, and she turned not to her brother. For this, there was an obvious reason. Despicably, knowing Narcissa would never bend to his will if she was the only one under threat, he turned his eyes and words to Sirius, the one person she truly cared about. In reality, the things he promised to do to the young Black in front of his wife were all bravado. He was scared of Sirius, and for good reason. Nearing the end of his last term at Hogwarts, Lucius had been defeated soundly in a duel with the younger boy, with very ... interesting ... consequences due to the imagination, invention and ingenuity of his opponent._

_However, Narcissa believed him. So, she kept silent. At the age of twenty-one, she gave birth. Her husband was not pleased by the child. No, not one little bit. He viewed it as a disgrace._

__"Narcissa, why?" Lucius leered, his voice sickly sweet. "You had to pass on your genes, didn't you? Why?"__

__Worse of all in his eyes, was the fact she had to give birth in a hospital, and had handed the infant a portion of her 'inferior' genetics. All the previous Malfoy wives had gone into contractions and had produced their children in the Manor where the family had lived for generations, culminating in an almost identical - both physically and mentally - line of sons and, rarely, daughters.__

_Her son had just been born. He was thin, slightly bony, and had the traditional Malfoy blond hair. His eyes, however, were a mix; a strange mix of icy blue and polished silver, resulting in a rather disturbing and unsettling stare. Combined with his pale white skin, he could easily pass as an albino in the right light. Unfortunately, this was what infuriated the Lord Malfoy._

_"What is your son's name to be, Lord Malfoy?" a nurse sniveled. "Are you going to stick with the traditional naming process, or go a little unorthodox."_

_It had been his vision to bring up a tall, politically shrewd and younger version of himself, with not a bit of evidence as to Narcissa being the mother. Although she came from a strong, strategically and historically Dark family, he felt that she was his gross inferior. You see, Lucius Malfoy was a sexist. To him, all women were good for was sex, heirs, and looking pretty whilst he got down to business._

_This was the contrary of Cissy's view on the subject. In her opinion - after being close with her brother Sirius from a very young age and having his ideals passed onto her - both men and women were equal; their competence and ability rested purely upon the things they valued and that were valued by others. Unfortunately, after being nigh-on sold to the arrogant pureblood, those beliefs had been crushed by violence and threats._

_Sighing, the irate Malfoy answered the nurse. "I shall call him Draco, after the Latin word for dragon and the constellation containing the star Thuban. His middle name shall be Lucius, after his estimable and wonderful father, and his family name shall be Malfoy," he sneered at the nurse, his tone stooping dangerously low. "Stupid girl, did you really think I would name my son and heir after the fashion of a mudblood?"_

_Narcissa gasped. That was a word she hated. Mudblood was a highly derogatory term for a Muggle-born witch or wizard; that is, individuals with no wizarding parents or grandparents. There did not appear - in her mind - to be any difference in the magical power of Muggle-borns compared to those who are pureblood or half-blood, but those prejudiced against Muggle-borns consider them to be of lower breeding or worth, and undeserving of magic. The term implied that the individual had 'dirty blood' and she considered it extremely offensive._

_Lucius turned his nose up when offered a hold of the baby. "Let the mother hold it," he said coldly. "It's her job. I am not payed for it, so why should I?"_

_He stormed off, probably to get drunk. He left her, sweating and bleeding, her stomach and legs aching, her oxygen levels low, and her energy non-existent._

_What a bastard._

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? This is merely a prologue, so the rest of the chapters should be considerably longer. Please read and review, and if you enjoyed ...<strong>

**Keep reading for more!**


	2. Prologue The Second: Childhood

**Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter or the famous Warner Bros, and the challenge belongs to DZ2. If I did own HP, well ... who knows what would have happened? Suffice to say it wouldn't have been particularly pretty or nice for some characters ... MWAHAHA!**

**Ages: I have messed around a little with canon timeline, and in this fic Sirius is two years older than Narcissa, whereas in J.K. Rowling's universe, she was four years his elder. Lucius in turn is three years ahead of Sirius.**

**A/N: I'm finally back, people! For some reason I feel incredibly nostalgic right now - I suppose it's because of all that's happened since I posted the prologue to this story. Anyway, here I am guys and gals. May my return be long and prosperous (yes, I really am that cocky). **

**This chapter takes place at separate times in Harry and Draco's childhoods, just to set the tiniest snippets of foundations for the story overall - you know, like a teaser, as I will be skipping most of their pre-Hogwarts childhood - at least, at first.**

**And you know what I've decided? I'm sorry DZ2, but screw the bloody rules! I'm doing it my way. No rules. No restrictions. Just inspiration. I will also be changing the relationships in the Black family - they are now as they were in canon.**

**I reckon that just about covers it, so without further ado, I present this chapter.**

**Actually, before we get on with the chapter, I have this to say - in fact, it's probably the most important thing so far: I am renaming this fanfic as '_Where Your Treasure Is_' (some of you may recognise this as part of a quote from HP and the Deathly Hallows).**

_Italics - memories/flashback_

**Anyway, please enjoy!**

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><p>In the sunlit silence of morning they could hear the cry of an infant inside the house. It was a long, hitching sound, thin and tired like the voice of an old man.<p>

"That's Harry. Stick this in the cassette player, would you, Cissa? It helps him get off to sleep," said Sirius, jumping from the couch of the house and hurtling up the stairs, chucking his sister an all black tape which she stuck in the player.

From the player came the soft, immortal words of the Beatles, as Sirius carried a small, black-haired bundle wrapped in white down the stairs to the living room.

"_Once there was a way to get back homeward  
><em>_Once there was a way to get back home  
><em>_Sleep pretty darling do not cry  
><em>_And I will sing a lullabye_

_Golden slumbers fill your eyes  
><em>_Smiles awake you when you rise  
><em>_Sleep pretty darling do not cry  
><em>_And I will sing a lullabye_

_Once there was a way to get back homeward  
><em>_O__nce there was a way to get back home  
><em>_Sleep pretty darling do not cry  
><em>_And I will sing a lullabye._"

Harry calmed, his breaths returning to normal, his cries no longer filling the house.

"Gah!"

The blond baby in Narcissa's own arms reached out longingly, pouting and squirming to reach the black-haired child.

"No, Draco, don't disturb him-"

Sirius, instead of agreeing with his sister, stood closer, and handed Harry even closer still to the young Black, who ran his tiny fingers over his face curiously, as if Harry was a new toy.

Instead of shying away from the contact, as was expected, Harry copied Draco, extending his hands to explore the young blond's features.

Sirius was speechless. Narcissa and him had never been that well behaved and amicable to each other when they had been that age, involved only in a love-hate relationship, that blossomed later into great friendship.

"Goo baba! Mama!"

Narcissa was stunned. Harry Potter - son of the martyr James Potter - had called her, ex-spouse of anti-Christ Lucius Malfoy, _mama_. Tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked quickly, trying to dispel them.

"No," Sirius said sadly, his voice soft and gentle. "Not mama. Your mama's gone away for a while."

Harry frowned. "Dada?"

Sirius choked, as flood of memories pouring to his head. He wiped his eyes quickly, snuffling, his hand glistening with moisture. "No - dada - your dada - he's g-gone t-too. I w-wish he wasn't, H-Harry, but he's gone. And he can't come back, no matter what any-" he swallowed painfully. "No matter what anyone can do. Neither can mama."

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><p>"Mummy! Watch me run!"<p>

Draco and Harry stood eagerly in the garden of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which expanded for over a couple of hundred yards, leaning forward in preparation.

Sirius smiled. "Okay boys, when I say 'GO', you go, alright?"

"Yes, Sirius," the pair chorused.

"Right. On your marks ... get set ..."

The two boys tensed, rocking backwards ...

"GO!"

... and exploded with speed, sprinting as fast as their young legs could carry them up towards where Narcissa was sitting, watching idly.

Harry's face strained, and Draco's tongue loped loosely from his panting mouth as the pair hurtled ever closer to her. "Argh!"

The pair leant forwards as they approached the line drawn in the grass by a long stick, Harry pushing just that little bit more than his blond counterpart, and crossing the line first by a tiny margin.

"Yes!"

Draco looked straight at Harry - ever the victor - with his eyes narrow silver slits. "I'll beat you next time, Harry. You were lucky."

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><p>"Please, Sirius," the two boys pleaded with him. "Please!"<p>

He shook his head adamantly. "No! You can't ride with me on Sidewinder! You're not old enough."

"Why? How old do we have to be?"

"Older than you are now," said an increasingly irritated Sirius. "And anyway, she's mine, not yours. Why should I let you go on her?"

"But-"

"Okay, pup," Sirius interrupted. "I get that you really want to learn how to ride a bike, but I just can't let you! What if you hurt yourselves? Besides, Cissa would never allow it. She'd have me dangling above the fire with my ... privates ... in the flames. And yours too!"

The pair gulped, scared. They'd been trying to persuade him for around a week now, and were looking understandably downcast.

"Listen," the animagus said, sighing. "When you come back from Hogwarts at Christmas, I'll teach you as a present. Or at least, I'll try to. Okay?"

They nodded, flashing him pairs of equally heart-wrenching puppy eyes.

"Hey, how about I buy you both brooms? That'd be cool, right?"

"YES!"

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><p>There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry and Draco had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, even globes of the moon.<p>

An assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights - some even having tables out front with coloured umbrellas - assaulting their senses, a motley collection of delicious smells wafting delightfully through the air.

Diagon Alley was awash with crowds - hordes, even - of witches, wizards, children and pets alike swarming the various peddlers of flowers, food and jewellery.

But they were there for one ting, and one thing only - brooms.

"Here we are - Broomstix! It might not have the reputation of Quality Quidditch Supplies, but it's certainly reliable. It's where I got my first broom. Oh, what a beauty she was too," Sirius reminisced, drooling. "White ash handle, smoother than anything on the planet ... rock elm tail twigs ... the speed, the agility ..."

"Um, Sirius?" Harry said tentatively, garnering no reaction from the wizard.

"So sleek ... so beautiful ..."

"Sirius!"

"Huh?"

"Can we get our brooms now, please?"

"O-of course," the man stuttered, embarrassed at being caught fantasizing about his first broomstick.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door of the circular brick shop, running his hands slowly against the brooms propped up outside on the wall.

Ding-ding-ding!

"Hello?" he called. "Anyone there?"

Silence. "Hello?"

Silence again. He stepped forwards to the newspaper-covered desk and slammed his hand down on the surface thrice, next to a huge pile of Daily Prophets. "HELLO?!"

"Aaah!"

A crash issued forth from the adjoining office, and a wand rolled under the locked door to Sirius' feet.

"Ungh ..."

Moans and grumbles could be heard through the door, until they heard the slow, metallic scraping sound of the bolt being unlocked. The door swung open.

"Bloody hell - it's been a long time since you las' graced my mos' humble establishmen' with your exalted presence, ain't it Sirius?" said the wizened shopkeeper, a balding, silver-haired and milky-eyed man. "Seems like you've go' some kids of your own now, then. 'Ho's the lucky lady?"

Sirius chuckled. "Not actually mine, unfortunately," he said. "One is my cousin's - you remember Narcissa -" Sirius motioned fondly to Draco, while ruffling Harry's already messy black hair. "- and this little devil is Harry. James' son."

"Great Merlin!" exclaimed the shopkeeper. "No' little 'arry - the smilin' little baby brough' here on James' shoulders abou' ... when was i'? Las' year?"

Sirius' face clouded sadly. "Almost ten years, Bob," he sighed. "Almost ten years."

"Ten years! Surely no'!"

Bob reached for his desk, seizing the top paper with his arthritic hands and skimming the top for the date. "Swee' lord! It is! Ten years ..."

He shook his head, astonished. "So where is young Jimmy, to leave you babysitting like this? Him and Lily Potter still livin' in Godric's 'ollow?"

A pair of silver-grey eyes welled up with tears, and Sirius wiped at them frantically with the back of his sleeves. "No," he choked out. "They're gone. Have been since 1981, Bob."

Bob's almost-blind eyes widened dramatically. "Oh Merlin ... no' the Dark Lord?"

"Yeah ..."

"Bu' he's gone now?"

"Yep."

Bob swung a tall chair from around the old desk, quickly wiping it of dust and sitting precariously on the edge of the seat. "How?" he asked. "Why?"

Sirius inclined his head slightly to the two boys behind him.

Bob nodded. He got the message. "Such a shame," he said. "Such a shame."

The animagus smiled depressingly. "I know. Trust me."

Quiet reigned again for around a minute in the shop, until Sirius felt a small tug at the back of his shirt. "Oh, of course! Bob do you have any new stock?"

The shopkeeper's face brightened visibly. "But o' course! Jus' this way!"

He led the group to a dark and dingy corner in the back room of the shop. He waved his hands extravagantly, and beamed. "Ta-dah! A bran' new batch o' Nimbus 1500s, jus' in today. You're in luck!"

The boys gaped. "It's go' improved acceleration and added manoeuvrability in comparison to the 1001 model, and a black oak'handle with bluejack oak tail twigs. A real beauty piece of craft, these ones are!"

Sirius, however, was lost in a myriad of memories.

_"Oi! Padfoot!"_

_Sirius looked up to the blue sky of July 1979, as James circled above him on his new broom._

_"Watch how fast it goes!" he shouted down at Sirius as he leant forwards, flat against the handle, taking off like a shot._

_"Merlin ..." Sirius breathed, as James turned on a sixpence and raced back towards him. "Where the hell did you get that, Prongs? It's mental!"_

_James grinned. "Broomstix, of course."_

_Sirius just looked at him._

_"It's a Nimbus ... got released a month ago."_

_Sirius stared._

_"It's called the 1500."_

He was brought back to lucidity by yet more tugging on his shirt. "Sirius! Sirius!"

He shook himself briefly. "Yes?"

"Please can we have them," they cried at him. "Please, please, please? Please?"

_"It's brilliant, Padfoot! You should get one!"_

Sirius nodded. "Bob ..."

"Yes, Sirius?"

"We'll take three."

Bob wrung his hands in glee.

"That'll be 234 galleons, 9 sickles an' 7 knuts, if you please. Would you like a bag?"

Sirius eye-balled him. "Really, Bob? You still remember that?"

Bob winked.

The animagus shooed the two boys to the brooms they had selected, and approached Bob's side.

"So," the shopkeeper muttered quietly. "How did it happen? Why?"

"Pettigrew," Sirius growled lowly. "He betrayed us."


	3. Chapter One: The Birthday - Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter or the famous Warner Bros, and the challenge belongs to DZ2. If I did own HP, well ... who knows what would have happened? Suffice to say it wouldn't have been particularly pretty or nice for some characters ... MWAHAHA! Neither do I own any - or have any affiliation with any - of the songs or artists that may appear in this fanfic. I make no profit, and therefore do this merely for a hobby.**

**Ages: I have messed around a little with canon timeline, and in this fic Sirius is two years older than Narcissa, whereas in J.K. Rowling's universe, she was four years his elder. Lucius in turn is three years ahead of Sirius.**

**Warning: I use British English, not American, so no, it isn't misspelt, only the British spelling.**

**This is the proper first chapter - both the others were mere prologues, and didn't contain anything majorly important. It's the real starting point of the story - July 31st 1991.**

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><p>"SURPRISE!"<p>

BANG! BANG!

Party poppers went off all around the kitchen, and candles lit the darkened room haphazardly.

With a little prodding from a certain very Sirius person, Draco led all the guests in the first verse of the all-important song.

"Happy birthday, Harry!"

Sirius enveloped him in a tight hug, a huge smile splitting his face from ear to ear.

"Happy birthday, pup," he whispered before turning back to the group. "Remus! Hit the music!"

Remus grinned widely, and shouted back: "Hello London! It's great to be back and performing for you all once again. Now, I'd better leave it to the radio, or I'll be bursting all your eardrums."

Waves of heavy guitar and drumming echoed through the room, and with it came the screams of the singers.

"_Take me down_  
><em>To the paradise city<em>  
><em>Where the grass is green<em>  
><em>And the girls are pretty<em>  
><em>Oh, won't you please take me home<em>_!_"

"Yes!"

Sirius reached for a bottle of beer and downed it as quickly as possible, about half of it spilling down his AC/DC shirt in the process, encouraged by his friend, Remus.

"We like to drink with Sirius, cause Sirius is our mate ... and when we drink with Sirius he takes it down in ... eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! THREE! TWO! ONE!"

For the last three numbers, everyone joined in, and Sirius plonked his now empty bottle back on the table.

"Ahh, your turn now Moony," Sirius said, his speech very slightly slurred. "Take it down you!"

He tossed the werewolf a bottle, and began the chant over again.

"_Adventure seeker on an empty street,  
><em>_Just an alley creeper, light on his feet  
><em>_A young fighter screaming, with no time for doubt  
><em>_With the pain and anger can't see a way out,  
><em>_It ain't much I'm asking, I heard him say,  
><em>_Gotta find me a future move out of my way,_

_I WANT IT ALL, I WANT IT ALL, I WANT IT ALL, AND I WANT IT NOW!  
><em>_I WANT IT ALL, I WANT IT ALL, I WANT IT ALL, AND I WANT IT NOW!_"

The voice of an irate Molly Weasley could be heard screeching over the song soon after as Sirius poured Harry a half-pint and handed it over carefully to him.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! HOW VERY DARE YOU! HE'S ELEVEN! DO YOU WANT HIM TO BECOME A BLOODY DRUNK?!"

Sirius had the decency to look abashed, but it didn't stop a small smile to creep onto his face, despite the chastisement. "Get it down you, pup," he murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Harry winked.

Unfortunately for Sirius, Molly both heard and saw. "NO! DON'T YOU DARE DRINK A SINGLE DROP OF THAT, YOUNG MAN! MERLIN HELP YOU IF YOU DO!"

She swivelled around to face Sirius, and stared him right in the eye. "If he so much as touches a drop of that stuff, I will not be held responsible for the castration and roasting of your genitals over the fireworks outside. Just you remember that, Sirius," she threatened. "Just you remember that."

Sirius gulped. "Um, Harry? Give me the beer, quickly."

When Harry stood still, shocked into statuesque silence, Sirius reached for the glass, and yanked it from the boy's grasp, quaffing down the beer as quickly as possible.

"Better?" he asked apprehensively.

Molly narrowed her eyes. "Better."

Sirius sighed in relief. "For now," she added dangerously.

Sirius gulped again, and grabbed a bottle of Firewhisky, pouring himself a shot and necking it quickly. "Okay, Molly."

He glanced at Remus.

* * *

><p>"Go on, Harry! Cut the cake!" cheered on Draco.<p>

The black haired eleven year-old stumbled over to the red and gold birthday cake, and was carefully handed the knife. He leant forwards, and with a strong puff, blew out all eleven candles. Then, without a warning ...

CRUNCH!

He toppled face first into the icing, the knife falling from his hand to the floor. The table buckled and swayed, and then collapsed, taking Harry with it.

The assembled group looked on aghast, and a quartet of red-haired children rushed over to Harry's prone body, the adults and Draco swiftly following.

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright? Harry!"

"ZzzZzZZz ... srnnk ..."

Molly stood up from her kneeling position, and turned _very_ slowly around. "Sirius Black ... you got him drunk, didn't you?! How could you! How could you let him down like that? How could you let James and Lily down like that?"

Remus blanched.

Sirius' worried face went suddenly blank of emotion. His eyes hardened, and he pivoted on his heel, storming out of the house and slamming the door behind him, the pattering of rain hitting it constantly.

All they heard was the CRACK! of his disapparition from the doorstep.

* * *

><p>Sirius knelt on the sodden ground, crying uncontrollably.<p>

He looked up to the sky, tears streaming down his face. Row upon row of tombstones protruded from a carpet of pale green that was flecked with dazzling red, gold, and blue wherever the reflections from the stained glass hit the rain-soaked grass.

The grave before him was white marble, shining in the dark of the cemetery. The words were clear and perfectly engraved.

JAMES POTTER - LILY POTTER

BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960  
>DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981<p>

_ The last enemy that shall be defeated is death._

"Why? Why did it have to be you? I loved you, James. I loved both of you," he sobbed. "You were my family, all of you. Why did it have to be you?"

He shifted slightly, and sat there, staring silently at the tombstone. "I'm sorry, James ... Lily ..." he wept, the words short and broken. "I've let you down - both of you. I'm so sorry ..."

"It's all my fault. First I lost Regulus, and now I've lost you. Everyone I really loved. It's different now ... there's less laughter, less fun ... except when the boys are around, of course. Harry's so much like you; so like both of you. He looks just like you, James ... he's got Lily's eyes, though ... a-and y-you'd be s-so pro-proud of him."

He cradled his head in his arms, wiping his puffy red eyes. "You'd be so proud of him."

* * *

><p>"Sirius! Siriuuuuus!"<p>

Remus walked slowly through the sleepy village of Godric's Hollow. "Siriuuuuus! Where are you?"

He shook his head sadly. "Why, Molly?" he asked himself. "Why did you have to say that, of all things?"

"SIIIRIUUUS!"

He edged into the cemetery, the lights from the church illuminating the damp grass around him, and a small, black figure curled up on the ground before a white grave.

He rushed towards it, the crop of black hair unmistakable. Remus dropped down, reaching out and shaking Sirius' shivering body gently. "Come on Sirius ... wake up. Wake up. I need you."

Nothing.

"Come on ... we've got to go home. It's what they would have wanted."

Sirius looked up at him, and rolled clumsily over. Beneath him lay a pool of blood. "It's too ... late ... Remus. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

The troubled cry rent through the still night air, distorted by the cold and the wind.

Remus covered his mouth with his hand, horrified. His eyes teared up, and a solitary drop of clear liquid ran down his cheek. "No ... it was never your fault, Sirius. Never."

"I convince them to swap, Remus ..." he choked out. "I'm the one to blame."

"No, Sirius. You're not. Why would we think that one of our best friends would ever betray us? If it's anyone's fault, it's Peter's. He double-crossed, Sirius. He's the one who tricked us, Sirius. Not you."

"But m-maybe ... maybe they'd still be alive if I hadn't - if I hadn't ..." Sirius swallowed, making a painful gulping sound. "Maybe it'd be better if I never existed."

"NO. No," Remus said, his voice suddenly hard. "Don't you ever say that, Sirius. You know it isn't true."

"But j-just m-maybe it would have been."

"No, Sirius. If you didn't exist, neither would I. Not as I am now. You'd have never known James - none of us would have done. How could that possibly be better?" he said hopelessly. "How could that possibly be better?"

There was no answer.

Remus wrapped his friend in a warm hug, and pulled out his wand, washing the cut on Sirius' wrist and sealing it up again. It still left a scar, though.

"Come on, Sirius," Remus said, dragging him to his feet. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>The pair appeared back at the house with a POP!<p>

"I'VE FOUND HIM!" Remus called loudly. "I'm going to take him upstairs!"

He grabbed Sirius' arm and draped it over his shoulder, helping him navigate the many stairs. "Come on, Sirius. Let's be having you ..."

They stepped into a now dark and dingy room, and Remus propped his best friend on the bed, flicking on the dim light dangling from the ceiling.

"Sirius? I've got something to tell you," Remus started hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"Well, I say 'tell you'," he stalled. "It's more like showing you."

"What?" Sirius asked, perplexed. _What the hell was he on about?_

"I found these on the doorstep of my house this morning," Remus said, reluctantly pulling a wad of well-used parchment from his trouser pocket. "They were delivered sometime last night. Most of them are mine, but ... some of them are for you."

He handed Sirius a dozen or so sheets of the parchment, upon every page of which was scribbled a long, looping script.

"Huh?"

"Just read them, Sirius," Remus said. "That's all I ask you."

Sirius picked out the top sheet, unfolded it carefully, and read.

_To my dearest Sirius,_

_The night around me is black and shining with the lights of a thousand stars. Or perhaps it is the lights of the city? Either way, it feels hollow and empty._

_Truth is, that I wouldn't like to speak, or sleep, or listen, or love. To feel myself trapped, with no fear of blood, outside time and magic, within your own fear, and your great anguish, and within the very beating of your heart. All this madness, if I asked it of you, I know, in your silence, there would be only confusion. I ask you for violence, in the nonsense, and you, you give me grace, your light and your warmth._

_I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever previous – your heat, your soul. Beauty one could get to know and fall in love with in one hour and cease to love it as speedily; but the soul one must learn to know. Believe me, nothing on earth is given without labour, even love, the most beautiful and natural of feelings._

_If I could bring myself to ask of you what I wished to ask of you, mayhap we would find ourselves dancing away on the most important night of our lives._

_Alas, I have not the courage to ask it of you. I just hope that some day, this will reach you, and preferably before I lose all minute sense of bravery._

_As it is, I came across an apt poem yesterday. It goes:_

_Mark but this flea, and mark in this,  
><em>_How little that which thou deniest me is;  
><em>_It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,  
><em>_And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;  
><em>_Thou know'st that this cannot be said  
><em>_A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,  
><em>_Yet this enjoys before it woo,  
><em>_And pampered swells with one blood made of two,  
><em>_And this, alas, is more than we would do._

_At least, that is the first verse. If you think deeply, you will find the meaning. I just pray you do._

_With all my heart,_

_Marlene_

Sirius' eyes blurred. "No," he whispered. "No."


End file.
